This invention relates generally to golf woods and more particularly to a golf wood having a pair of offset runners carried by the sole of the wood and also including a deflection element within the offset of the runners for inhibiting the golf wood from embedding into the ground during a swing.
Golf clubs known as woods are used for hitting the ball off the tee, from the fairway and possibly from the rough. Specific woods are utilized depending on the shot. For instance, a driver is generally used for tee shots while fairway woods are utilized for hitting the golf ball from the fairway or rough. Since a tee shot involves hitting a golf ball from an elevated tee while a fairway or rough shot involves hitting a golf ball from the ground, these particular woods generally have different sole patterns.
When striking a golf ball from the ground, the golfer must use caution to prevent striking the ground. In order for a golfer to obtain the most distance for a given effort, the golf club head must be traveling at its maximum velocity as the face of the golf club interacts with the golf ball. However, should the golfer strike the ground with the wood, the head may slow down if the club head digs too deep into the ground thus decreasing the velocity of the club head and consequently decreasing the flight of the golf ball. This event is known as duffing. Furthermore, the striking of the ground is so feared that many times the golfer will pull up on the shot resulting in a xe2x80x9ctoppedxe2x80x9d shot where only the top portion of the golf ball is struck. Neither duffing or topping is desirable.
Additionally, when the golf ball lies in the rough, tall grass extends around the ball. Thus, the golf club must pass through the grass when hitting the ball. However, interaction with the grass may cause the club head to twist and thus produce an errant shot.
Some woods have been designed to aid the golfer from duffing or topping. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,095 discloses a wood which has a longitudinal keel with concave sides to assist the club in traveling through the rough. U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,921 illustrates a protrusion on the bottom of a fairway wood which forms an obstruction which will cause the club head to be relatively raised or lifted in a follow through stroke. Other patents exist which include parallel protrusions.
While the prior art fairway woods are suitable for their intended purposes, certain disadvantages may exist if the extending protrusions, known as runners, dig excessively into the ground thereby slowing the club head down.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wood which impedes sole runners from imbedding into the ground.
Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wood which includes runners and a bounce channel which deters the runners from imbedding into the ground.
A golf club head having a sole portion includes a first and second outside runner carried by the sole portion. The outside runners are offset from one another to define a deflection channel. The first and second outside runners each have a front edge depending from the sole portion to define a general height. The front edges transition to a generally level horizontal platform. The generally level horizontal platform extends in a front to back direction. A deflection element is carried within the deflection channel. The deflection element has a front and a rear and an intermediary portion which extends from the front to the rear. The intermediary portion rises from the front towards the rear to a general height. The height of the intermediary portion of the deflection element does not exceed the height of the first and second outside runners.